At a time when he postponed his visit to the Emirates and Bahrain, which was scheduled for the beginning of next week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to visit Egypt before the Knesset elections, but President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stipulated that by showing good intentions by Netanyahu regarding the Palestinian file, according to the website "Walla".
Netanyahu's visit to Cairo nearly went into effect a month ago, but Sisi changed his reception after announcing the dissolution of the Knesset and the early Israeli elections, and after the resumption of talks in this regard, Cairo asked Netanyahu to take a good initiative towards the Palestinian file during his visit to Cairo.
According to two Israeli sources familiar with the arrangements for the visit, the Egyptian president stipulated that for the visit to take place, the Israeli prime minister would declare his acceptance of the two-state solution, or that he implement some step on the ground as a step to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
However, Netanyahu has reservations about this proposition, which comes on the eve of the Knesset elections next March, in light of his efforts to gain the largest possible support from the right-wing voters, and despite this, Netanyahu still hopes to visit Cairo, so that efforts are made to reach a settlement that will give way. The field to visit before the Knesset elections.
The final touches and agreement were put on arranging Netanyahu's visit to Cairo before the Israeli elections, during a visit by the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel - who is considered one of the most close associates of Sisi - to Tel Aviv more than a week ago, after his visit to Ramallah.
Kamel met with officials in the Israeli prime minister's office, and when the idea of his visit to Cairo was raised, the Egyptian intelligence chief repeated Sisi's request, which stipulated that Netanyahu be shown good intentions regarding the Palestinian file, but those close to the latter ruled out the existence of this condition, according to Walla.
The issue of the visit was raised during contacts between the two sides several months ago, against the backdrop of "the Abraham Accords" and the change of the American administration, noting that Netanyahu visited Egypt officially and publicly 10 years ago, when the ousted President Hosni Mubarak was still in power.
Netanyahu (left) and Bahrain's foreign minister, Abdul Latif Al-Zayani, during their meeting last November in occupied Jerusalem (Anadolu Agency)
Normalization and the elections.
The researcher on Israeli affairs, Antoine Shalhat, attributed the visit that Netanyahu plans to undertake to the Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to his efforts to invest normalization in his electoral campaign and to search for a victory image in Arab capitals.
There are indications that the Israeli Prime Minister - who postponed his visit to the Emirates and Bahrain due to the comprehensive closure and suspension of flights at Ben Gurion Airport in light of the Corona pandemic - will pay visits before the elections, to coordinate positions between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi, Manama and Cairo in front of the administration of US President Joe Biden regarding all With regard to the incendiary files in the Middle East, most notably the Iranian nuclear file and the Palestinian file.
Shalhat downplayed to Al-Jazeera Net the value and feasibility of the conditions set by the Egyptian regime to receive Netanyahu in Cairo, stressing that Sisi's conditions are more ridiculous than respect.
Despite this, the researcher on Israeli affairs does not rule out the possibility that Netanyahu will release statements for media consumption related to his willingness to return to negotiations with the Palestinians and accept the two-state solution, provided that his visit to Cairo and Gulf capitals takes place before the elections.
Conditions and statements
The researcher Antoine Shalhat explained that Sisi's conditions come in the context of Cairo’s attempt to intervene in regional issues and the Palestinian file in particular, in light of the new US administration that the Egyptian president is so concerned about.
Shalhat recalled Netanyahu’s approach, which he announced at the start of his term in 2009 in his Bar-Ilan speech - during his hosting of former US President Barack Obama - that he accepted the principle of the two-state solution, but he quickly backed away from this declaration.
However, he believes that Netanyahu, if it is confirmed that his visits to Arab capitals will settle the elections in his favor, and if he is also subjected to pressure from the Biden administration, he may announce his readiness to return to negotiations with the Palestinians and his acceptance of the two-state solution, but on conditions that empty any solution of its true content.
Al-Sisi
and
Biden,
about the goals behind the organization of Netanyahu's visit to Cairo and the seriousness of Sisi's conditions, the Israeli political reporter Barak Rafid stated that the Egyptian side is very concerned that their relationship with the new White House administration will "start with the left foot."
The Egyptian regime also fears the repercussions of the anger and stance of the US President’s administration towards Sisi, a position that Biden expressed during his election campaign when he directed severe criticism of Egypt on the issue of human rights, and Cairo expresses concern about the decline in relations with the current administration compared to the close relations between Sisi and former President Donald Trump. According to the political reporter.
In light of these concerns, Rafid believes that the Sisi regime seeks to take an effective regional role, especially in the Palestinian file, and therefore this attempt comes to Cairo to move the negotiations that have been stalled for years and to engage in any attempts to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, thus sending a positive signal to the White House, and strengthening Sisi's chances of strengthening relations as partners, according to the new US president.
However, Rafid asserts that "President Sisi does not care much about the Palestinian issue, but he knows that Netanyahu is looking for an image of the election campaign and is trying to extract from it a political achievement for Egypt as well."